


we're home

by axiolotl



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Mass Effect 3, Post-Horizon (Mass Effect), Rare Pairings, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 21:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12661671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axiolotl/pseuds/axiolotl
Summary: Kolyat goes back to the hospital he promised himself he'd never return to.





	we're home

“Mr. Krios?” 

Kolyat jumped and woke up to a familiar setting: the waiting room of Huerta Memorial. The same secretary he’d seen for months sat at her desk, staring at him intently. He straightened and stood up, the plastic around the bouquet in his lap crinkling at the movement. He would have been embarrassed about falling asleep in public, but he’d been here so often, the stiff chairs might as well be his second home.

“Yes?” he said, his voice rough with sleep.

“Visiting hours have begun. I see you’re already signed in — you’re clear to enter.”

His eyes glanced to the holographic clock displayed above the human woman’s desk to confirm the time — he came here right after his overnight shift and lost track of time, apparently falling asleep until the Presidium day cycle began.

“Thanks,” he said, nodding at her before heading into the sanitizing chamber. While standing still for the scan, he realized how hard he was crushing the stems of the flowers in his hands, and eased his grip. Tension gripped his body and he tried to force his muscles to relax, breathing the way the priests instructed for meditation.

No matter how many times he visited the hospital, how comfortable he got in its waiting room, he was still put on edge. Anxiety born from knowing each visit could be the last time he saw his dad was too ingrained. Reaching the day where it actually happened didn’t help.

He would have never come back here, if he could have helped it.

Kolyat navigated an almost labyrinthine maze of hallways, some nurses giving him a nod or a smile. Once he reached the room, he took a deep breath and knocked with his free hand. 

“Come in.”

He didn’t expect her to be awake this early and a shot of anxiety punched through his stomach before he composed himself. He slid open the door, closing it behind him.

Oriana sat on a chair facing the large windowed view of the Presidium, the station just waking up as the simulated sunlight hit her face. She turned, her leg heavily bandaged and her smile brought a light to the room brighter than any Citadel engineer could ever hope to achieve. “Kolyat!”

His throat caught at the sight of her — _she’s alive, she’s safe_ — and he heard the faint crumple of the bouquet as his hand tensed. He felt frozen by the cocktail of emotions running through him — relief was definitely there, but regret and anxiety mixed with an undertone of longing.

“Oriana,” he was able to choke out, thawing now so he could stop her from trying to stand up onto some crutches. “Hey, sit down,” he took the crutches out of her reach, grabbing her arm to steady her.

“Nice to see you too,” she quipped, resolutely remaining standing, using his arm for support and making his skin feel like electricity where she touched him. “You’d think it would be longer before you started scolding me, but no, here we are.”

“Oriana…” he said hopelessly, almost begging, unwilling to keep up with their usual bickering. Nothing was usual about the fact that she disappeared for a month only to return on the Normandy with her sister and a bullet wound. Things had almost been normal again before she was taken, and he didn’t know how much she made the Citadel feel like home until she was gone.

“I’m not going to break, Kolyat,” she said, her tone still playful, but softer now. “I survived being shot by Commander Shepard. Not a lot of people can say that.”

His concern was cleared away by rage. “She _shot_ you?!” He could almost feel the sides of his throat enlarging in anger, before Oriana turned and put her free hand on his other shoulder, simultaneously calming him and sending sparks down his spine.

“She _saved_ me,” she said seriously, now looking directly into his eyes. “From my dad. Kolyat, it could have been worse. A _lot_ worse.”

He nodded, trying to calm himself. He had no idea what happened – her parents only sent him a message last night saying she was back, and in the hospital. Even though his gut told him it was her father, he was helpless the entire month to do anything. A job as a C-sec civilian assistant didn’t give him much power to search for her, even though there was a formal investigation. It was near impossible to contact Miranda, and he could only hope that she was out there searching for her sister.

He thought back to the night that Shepard saved him, too, and how much worse it could have been. A punch to the face was way better than what could have happened.

“Okay.”

“Okay,” she said, and gave him a small smile before looking down. “Are those for me?”

“Oh,” and he realized it was a huge effort to tear his attention from her to the flowers between them. “Yes, I… heard it’s a human custom to bring flowers to people in the hospital and I, uh, know zinnias are your favorite.”

She held it in one hand, admiring the bouquet, the oranges and reds clashing with the blue of her eyes.

“I’m… I’m glad you’re okay.” 

Her eyes were misty with tears as she looked back up at him. “I- Thank you, Kolyat.” 

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” he asked, looking down at her leg and starting to adjust to try to make things more comfortable, if he could —  

“No, no,” she said, interrupting his movements, tears rolling down the sides of her face while she still smiled. “I’m sorry Kolyat, I’m just so happy to see you.”

“Oh,” he said. “So… you’re crying?”

“Shut up,” she said, her voice watery as she thumped him lightly with the bouquet. “You’re making me _un_ happy to see you now.”

He chuckled. “Is that all it takes? I have to be more careful.”

She huffed a laugh and adjusted the bouquet so she was now cradling it. Looking down, her smile waned. “No, it’s just... I never thought I’d see you again. Or anybody. I thought that was it.”

“...Oh.” He was almost pulled back into the memory of the the day his mother died — _where’s mom she said I have to hide —_ unsure whether he’d ever see the light of day again. He swallowed and looked at Oriana, looking so small for someone that usually stood so strong and resolute.

He moved closer and wrapped his arms around her, still holding her up off her bad leg. A sob racked her body and he bent his head down, smelling a mix of shampoo, medi-gel and freshly cut flowers.

She was so _warm_ , and he couldn’t tell whether it was because of the heat and electricity that hit him every time she got close or because of an actual temperature difference. Whatever it was that was between them, it made him go crazy — but in this moment, they were here, and most importantly, she was _safe._

“It was so horrible,” she mumbled against his chest. “Cerberus was doing all these … tests … and I thought I lost Miri again, and I … I …”

“It’s okay,” he said, giving a squeeze, remembering all the times people had comforted him over the years. “You’re here now.”

She nodded, and after a couple of moments, he felt her shift in his arms and say something unintelligible. “What?”

She brought her head up, her face now alarmingly close to his, a blush blooming across her still wet cheeks. “I said, we’re crushing the flowers.”

“Oh!” he shifted back, the petals slightly squashed. “I can get new ones, I’m sorry-”

“No, it’s okay!” she said, shaking them out. “It’s okay, really. They’ll be fine once they’re put in a vase.”

“If you say so.”

“I _do_ say so,” she said, unnecessarily defiant, and their eyes caught. Even though he had just moved away, the heat between them was unbearable, and she was _alive_ and they were both _together_ and before he knew what he was doing he was leaning down to her lips and —

“Goooood morning!” a turian voice called out, the greeting accompanying the sound of the door opening. “How’s my favorite - oh!”

Kolyat near jumped out his skin, jerking away and looking at the nurse that had just interrupted them, and he could feel his fringe pulsing with embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, should I come back later?” the turian asked, walking further into the room with clearly no regard for whether they actually wanted him there or not. 

“Uh, no, it’s okay,” Kolyat mumbled while Oriana doubled over with laughter, different kinds of tears flowing now.

“Great!” the turian said in a cheerful voice, beckoning for Oriana to come back to her bed while he assembled a line of bandages and equipment.

Kolyat hobbled over with Oriana, and once she was sitting back on her bad, still giggling, he fell into a nearby chair. “I’m glad you find it funny,” he mumbled. 

“Kolyat, stop moping, oh my _g_ _od_ ,” she said, dissolving into another fit of giggles as he lowered his chin to the bed’s railings, trying to make his face look as ridiculously sorrowful as he could. The nurse waited patiently, efficiently tending to her leg once she stopped shaking with laughter.  

Oriana watched, enraptured, at the soiled bandages and the healing wound in her leg.

“This is gross,” Kolyat said, though he wasn't _that_ disgusted by it. He’d dealt with too many of his father’s medical emergencies to shirk at the sight of some stitches.

“This is _cool_ ,” she said. “I can’t believe it went all the way through.”

“And only through some muscle and fat,” the turian said, mixing up some medi-gel. “You’re one lucky girl.”

“I guess if anyone were to shoot me properly, it’d be Commander Shepard.”

“My dad did say she’s the best shot in the galaxy,” Kolyat added. “Better than him.”

Oriana nodded, focused on the turian’s quick hands. While he cleaned her wound and dressed it, she looked to Kolyat. “Hey, Kolyat?”

“Yeah?” 

“Would you mind staying here for the day?”

He swallowed, looking at her wide eyes and the bedraggled bouquet still in her arms, not even giving a second thought to his answer. “Yeah. I’m not going anywhere.”

**Author's Note:**

> This walking on  
> and on, this  
> going and coming—  
> this morning
> 
> shines such lovely  
> light on  
> all of us.  
> We're home.
> 
> — Robert Creeley


End file.
